Serpentine Studios
by FujoshiFangirl
Summary: Naruto is a college student looking for the prefect birthday gift for his friend Sakura. He meets Sai, a poor artist struggling to make end's meat, who asks for Naruto's help in advertising his paintings. They strike a deal, but for Naruto, meeting the fair skinned and raven haired artist stirs up old memories of a lover from his past with disturbingly similar features.
1. The Starving Artist

Naruto Uzumaki came to a stop on the sidewalk and shoved his hands in the pockets of his jacket. The sky was beginning to darken as evening progressed, and he still hadn't figured out what to buy for Sakura's birthday. His roommate and close friend since middle school was turning twenty one in less than one week, and Naruto knew he absolutely had to find something good or Sakura would be disappointed. She was a very finicky woman.

Any time she needed him, he was there. Love troubles, procrastinated homework, female rivalry: it didn't matter. She had even sent him to the convenience store for tampons - twice. It was frustrating for Naruto that he was unable to procure a suitable birthday present for her. He wanted to get her something special, but he really hadn't thought that it would be this difficult.

He continued walking, weaving his way through Downtown Konoha. He saw a nice restaurant and considered taking her out for dinner, but decided that she wouldn't like something that so closely resembled a romantic date. He saw a flyer for a spa and considered getting her a gift card, but then she wouldn't have anything to physically unwrap, which was something that she really enjoyed. Besides, something like that would surely break the bank for a broke college student like him.

Naruto was just about to give up for the day and turn back when the scent of incense caught his attention. Glancing around in search of the source, he noticed a slightly ajar narrow door squished between the pizzeria and the music shop. Naruto had lived in Konoha all his life, but had never noticed this particular door before. Confused, he tried to think back to his childhood, and the many times Iruka had taken him for pizza in the adjacent building, but could not for the life of him recall ever seeing this door.

 _There's no time like the present,_ he figured. He crossed the street and entered to find that the door was actually at the bottom of a staircase. The only thing occupying the small landing between the door and the first step was a tiny table, and on that table sat a short stack of business cards and an incense tray shaped like a lotus flower. _A yoga studio?_ Naruto wondered. He picked up one of the business cards to examine it. It read "Sai" in large black letters over a plain white background and "Artist" underneath in smaller letters of a similar style. He flipped the card over to find a phone number and email address printed on the back. Overall the design seemed extremely plain for a so-called artist's business card, though the words appeared to have been painted by hand with a brush. _Maybe he's a calligraphy artists,_ Naruto mused.

Whatever this artist guy was up to, it definitely would not result in the perfect birthday gift for Sakura. She was similar to Naruto in her affections for bright colors, and this Sai character's plain black and white business card gave Naruto the impression of someone who felt very differently towards such colors. He wondered if Sai was anything like Sasuke: the moody loner type who wore black every day.

Naruto peered up the staircase to find a red door waiting at the top. Hanging on a nail in the door was a simple sign similar in design to the business cards that read "Open." Curiosity having gotten the better of him, Naruto climbed the seventeen concrete steps up the dimly lit corridor and turned the doorknob. At first, the door refused to budge. Naruto wondered if maybe the mysterious calligraphy artist had forgotten to flip the sign over. He knocked just to be sure.

"It's open," a monotone voice informed him from the other side of the door. "It just sticks."

Naruto froze. It wasn't Sasuke's voice talking to him from behind that door. This voice was breathier and not as deep, but the cold and unconcerned intonation was remarkably similar to Sasuke's. Naruto tried the knob again, and this time the mysterious red door gave way when he gave it a hearty shoulder check.

He regained his balance quickly and, one hand still grasping the doorknob, soaked the room in with his eyes. There were numerous paintings hanging on the pasty white walls. They ranged from simple minimalist sketches done in black ink, as Naruto had expected to see, to colorful still life portraits and even a few abstract pieces which did not seem to depict anything physical at all.

Naruto's gaze finally fell upon the artist himself - or rather, said artist's back. He was young; only slightly older than Naruto if not the same age. His figure was slight, and his thin waist was exposed by a shirt which probably did not even reach his bellybutton. He wore shades of black and greys, as Naruto had predicted. _Sasuke's not eccentric enough to wear a cropped top like that though,_ he noted. Like Sasuke, his hair was extremely dark and his skin extremely pale to match the pasty studio walls. He appeared to be even more pale than Sasuke, which until this moment Naruto had not even thought was possible. Vaguely wondering what it was like to live with such severe anemia, Naruto cleared his throat and prepared to greet the artist. "Sai, right?"

"You are correct," was Sai's monotone response.

 _Whoa,_ thought Naruto. _He might be more like Sasuke than Sasuke is like himself._ "I'm Naruto Uzumaki," he continued, trying his best to remain upbeat.

Sai failed to respond. No "nice to meet you" or "welcome to my studio." Just silence.

Naruto walked further into the room, purposely leaving the door open so he would feel less claustrophobic in the small studio with the quiet artist's unsettling personality - or rather his utter lack of personality. He let his eyes lead him around the room, traveling from painting to painting. He had to admit that despite Sai's discomforting personality, the guy had legitimate talent.

Naruto's gaze settled on a landscape portrait of the sun setting over the mountains. He recognized the vantage point as the hillside where he and Sakura used hang out and drink beer together in high school. It was actually a really popular spot for that, and more than once the two of them had stumbled upon young couples dry humping in the tall grass there. The soft pink and orange hues illuminating Konoha City were beautiful. The way Sai had portrayed evening light in the work was nothing short of masterful. It was the absolute perfect birthday gift for Sakura.

"What is this one called?" Naruto inquired without tearing his eyes away from the painting.

"What is it called?" Sai repeated the question back to him as if it were an unusual thing to ask.

"Yeah," Naruto continued. "None of these are labeled." He turned to watch Sai, who had momentarily stopped applying coats of white paint to the blank canvas before him, and seemed to be considering the question more thoughtfully.

Finally, the man set the brush down and swiveled around on the stool to face Naruto. The shape of his face was smooth - feminine, even - and his features were soft with the exception of two sharp cat-like eyes. His expression, however, was eerily blank. "I never name my paintings," he explained. Then the corners of his mouth curled up into what Naruto thought to be a creepy and lifeless smile that did not even remotely reach his eyes or seem in any way genuine.

Naruto could not help the grimace that appeared on his own face in response. Sai, oblivious to the reaction in Naruto's body language, tilted his head the way girls do when smiling at a cute boy. Naruto could only shiver and ask tentatively, "How much for this one?" He motioned to the painting with his hand.

"Hmm." The creepy fake smile melted away just as suddenly as it had taken shape. Sai stroked his chin thoughtfully for a moment before answering, in all seriousness, "thirty thousand."

Naruto dry swallowed to pop his ears, assuming he had heard wrong. "Sorry, what was that?"

"Thirty thousand," the artist deadpanned.

"Thirty thousand cents?" That had to be it. This guy just had a weird way of saying things, that was all.

"Thirty thousand dollars," Sai clarified, still completely expressionless.

"Don't you mean _three_ thousand dollars? Or _three hundred_ dollars, maybe?" Naruto looked back at the painting. Sure, it was absolutely breathtaking, but that price was completely outrageous. The man was out of his mind if he thought anyone would pay that price. Naruto was sure that the square canvas could not even be more than a mere twenty five or thirty inches across. "What makes this painting worth that price?" Naruto asked. "Don't tell me the gold paint is made from real gold or something. What's the pink: crushed pearls and rubies?" Naruto placed his hands on his hips and stared straight into Sai's jet black eyes.

"The truth is I haven't been selling very many paintings lately," Sai confessed.

Naruto crossed his arms over his chest and replied, "I'm not surprised, with _those_ prices." He mentally added, _and that attitude._

"I read in a book that art is more likely to sell when the price is a bit high," he explained. "Apparently, it's psychological. Giving your art a higher price gives the impression of importance, quality and confidence."

Naruto was completely speechless. _This guy is completely socially inept,_ he realized. _Wow._ He took a breath and let his arms fall to his sides. "Okay," he began. "Let's talk reality now." He pointed an accusing finger at Sai. "You can't sell your art because your business cards suck."

Sai blinked a few times blankly. "Please elaborate."

"Look, you don't need to trick people into buying your art with weird mind twisting tricks," Naruto explained. He motioned towards the painting behind him over his shoulder with his thumb. "Your work is incredible. You would have no problem selling it if people actually knew it existed. You just need to improve your advertising." He grinned at Sai enthusiastically. "Trust me, the price won't change a thing." He paused, reconsidering his statement. "Well, the price still has to be realistic. Not very many people have thirty grand to blow on some underground artist, no matter how awesome the paintings are."

Naruto saw a legitimate expression form on Sai's face for the first time as he considered Naruto's words. He was not sure precisely what the expression was, but it was definitely _something._ Perhaps some combination of confusion and intrigue.

"Let's strike a deal," Sai suddenly proposed.

"Huh?"

"If you can help me sell five paintings, for whatever price that I decide is fair, then I'll give you that one as compensation. I won't sell it to anyone else unless you decide not to help me, you give up, or you can't do it within a few weeks time."

Naruto scanned the room again, considering each work, then returned his attention to the strange socially challenged artist who was asking for his help. "That depends," Naruto told him. "How much, for example, would you ask for that one?" He pointed a finger across the room at a black design depicting a tiger baring its fangs at the viewer.

"The tiger?" He studied it carefully for a moment, then said, "thirty dollars."

Naruto nodded in approval, then pointed at a more elaborate painting. "What about that one?" It was one of the larger works in the studio, and depicted a woman standing on the curb before a busy street. She was looking up at the sky, forlornly facing away from the viewer. "The one with the woman about to cross the street."

"At least five hundred," Sai answered quickly.

Naruto nodded approvingly. "What can you tell me about it? You need to be able to talk about it if you're going to sell it for that price."

"It's about how we all anticipate death, or I suppose the afterlife, since she's looking towards Heaven. It's always in the back of our minds, regardless of how busy or happy our lives are. Crossing a busy street, seeing the elderly, even checking the time: they're all small daily reminders of our eminent deaths."

Naruto shuddered. _How can he say that with such a blank face?_ "Alright, I'll help you," he said, putting a fist to his own chest as a sign of honorable integrity. "First things first, you definitely need a sign outside. But before that I guess you need to name your studio-slash-gallery, so you have a title for the sign."

"What do you think I should name it?"

Naruto sighed. "I can't name your studio for you. I literally just met you. I don't know anything about you."

Sai seemed to perk up slightly at Naruto's words. "I was born in Konoha City, but not in the nice part of town. I never knew my parents. I realised that I was gay at age nine. I was adopted by a man who -"

"Stop! Dude, stop. Slow down." Naruto put his hands out as if to shield himself from Sai's personal information. "We'll get to know each other over time," he explained. "There's no need to force it." He did his best to give Sai a warm and reassuring smile despite how awkward the man had made him feel. _I guess the gay detail explains the bellyshirt,_ he mused. "Either way, I still could never name your studio for you. That's all you."

To Naruto's astonishment, a slight blush colored Sai's cheeks, and his dark eyes flitted away from Naruto's. _So even this guy can feel embarrassed,_ he realised. _I guess he's not just an empty shell afterall._ Naruto returned his attention to the painting of the woman. _I suppose there has to be something real inside him if he comes up with work like this._ He was beginning to feel more confident about their bargain. He was definitely determined to procure the sunset painting for Sakura, no matter what.

Naruto pulled his cellphone from his pocket and found the page for new contact information. "Alright, put in your phone number," he instructed, crossing the room and holding the device out to Sai. He accepted it quietly, did as instructed, then handed in back. "Now I'll just text you so you have my number, and we're all set."

Sai nodded, indicating that he understand. "So what's first?"

By now a plan was starting to form in Naruto's mind. "Do you have a piece of paper I can write on?" Sai pointed towards a cardboard box in another corner of the room labeled "scratch paper" with a marker. It was filled with pieces of paper of various sizes, colors and textures. _Of course there's paper_ , Naruto realised. _It's an art studio._ He crossed the room and chose a piece of paper with a partial pencil sketch on it. "Can I get a -"

The request for a pen disappeared in Naruto's throat when he examined the drawing more closely. It was of a naked man. At first glance he hadn't thought anything if it. _Artists draw naked people all the time,_ he had thought, but something about this drawing was different. It was sensual. The man was biting his lower lip and had his head tilted back slightly, so his eyes appeared half lidded and filled with sexual desire. A few strands of hair were strewn over the man's face and sticking to his lips. He had one hand touching his chest and the other reaching down, off the page and out of sight, but Naruto could make an educated guess as to where it ended up. The paper cut off just past his happy trail and slightly into the adjacent forest.

"Can I get a pen, too?" Naruto tried again, stuffing the drawing back into the box and choosing another piece of paper. He found that the second paper merely had an innocent sketch of a rabbit. _That's better,_ he thought, relieved at having chosen a less awkward piece of scratch paper this time.

"Yes," Sai responded in his usual cool demeanor, seemingly unaware of Naruto's awkwardness. For the first time since Naruto's arrival, he rose from the stool, then crossed to room to hand Naruto the pen. He was slightly taller than Naruto, yet he probably weighed less. Whereas Naruto had an athletic, muscular figure with broad shoulders, Sai's physique was slight; even feminine if not for his narrow, boyish hips exposed by his choice of clothing. His shirt barely covered his ribcage, and his black pants hung low around those slender hips. The dark shade of the fabrics that made up Sai's clothes contrasted sharply with his fair skin, and subtly accentuated the thin trail of dark hairs extending out of his pants and reaching almost to his naval.

Sai's earlier random admission of being attracted to men floated into Naruto's mind, and he looked back at the cardboard box of scratch paper thoughtfully. He wondered if the subject in that sketch was Sai's lover.

"Here," said Sai, still holding the pen out to him.

"Oh!" Naruto pulled his thoughts together and snatched it from his hand quickly. "Thanks," he responded sheepishly. He sat down cross legged and began jotting down a list of ideas, using the floor as a hard surface to write on. Naruto was no artist himself, but it was definitely something that he took an interest in. He went out of his way to take extra Art History and Art Appreciation classes in college, in addition to the classes he took for his completely unrelated major in Exercise Sciences

"What are you writing?" Sai asked curiously.

"I'll go down the list," Naruto assured him, setting down the pen and holding up the paper. "First off, like I said earlier, you need a name for this studio."

Sai stared at the floor, deep in thought. "What about just Sai's Studio?"

"No way!" Naruto gave him a thumbs down with his free hand and shook his head in distaste. "That's so boring. You're an artist, so get more creative."

"I'm a painter, not a writer," Sai responded honestly. "I'm not good at expressing myself with words."

Naruto brought a hand to his chin as he considered this. "We need to figure that out before we can do anything else," he continued thoughtfully. "Just think about it, and text me if any ideas come to you." Sai nodded approvingly. "Once we figure out a name, then we can work out a sign, cards, flyers, advertisements, all that stuff. Also, I was thinking that we should have a grand opening. I know you've probably been here for awhile already, but since no one knows about this place, it still seems like an appropriate thing to do. You'll need to move all your art supplies somewhere else though. You'll also need to label all your pieces, write up an artist's statement, maybe get a table or something so we can do a cheese and crackers type of thing." Naruto was scribbling all of these things down on the piece of paper as he talked.

"Moving my stuff out of the way won't be a problem," Sai informed him. He made his way to the edge of the room and, to Naruto's surprise, opened another door. It was the exact same color as the walls, even down to the hinges and doorknob, so it was not at all strange that Naruto hadn't noticed its existence earlier. "I live here," Sai elaborated. "My apartment is through here. I can easily move my at supplies into the bedroom temporarily for any events."

"That's awesome!" Naruto folded the paper and stuck it in the pocket of his pants as he made his way over. "Is it just like a little studio or something?"

"Pretty much." Sai went into the next room and switched on the light. "It's not actually meant to be an apartment, but I make do."

Naruto followed Sai into the room and looked around. There wasn't much: a mattress lying on the floor without a bed frame, a small dresser, a tiny table with two mismatched chairs, a rather large bookshelf, and another door which probably led to a bathroom made up the contents of the room. The bookshelf housed a miniature refrigerator, a microwave, some groceries, the bare essential dishes, a few books, and some art supplies. "It's so small," Naruto commented. "Is there even a shower?"

"I usually shower over at the gym in the college's athletics building, or else at an acquaintance's house," Sai explained. Naruto took notice of his avoidance of the word "friend."

"Dang, you're really roughing it!" Naruto put a hand on Sai's shoulder. "You know my number of you ever need a place to shower or do laundry or anything," he offered with a reassuring grin.

Sai, still maintaining his usual blank expression, simply asked, "Why?"

"Because why not?" Naruto gave his shoulder a gentle squeeze, then quickly retreated his hand. "It's just a part of us helping each other out, right?"

"Oh, okay," was Sai's monotone response.

Naruto, who was starting to become accustomed to Sai's unanimated way of speaking, took no offense. "Let's be friends," he blurted, holding out a hand. He didn't care whether Sai shook it, high fived it, fist pounded it, et cetera: the message would remain the same. It seemed to him that the only thing the cliché starving artist before him really needed was a socially adept sidekick. He had real talent, he just needed some help to put himself out there.

"What for?" Sai deadpanned obliviously.

Naruto let his hand fall back to his side and mentally added _teach Sai some manors_ to his checklist of things to do. _What happened to this guy to make him like this?_ he wondered.

"Alright, I better get going. I told Sakura we would eat dinner together tonight," said Naruto. He was reaching the end of his patience with Sai's lack of ability to read social situations. "It was nice meeting you."

"Likewise," Sai replied. Naruto thought he might have witnessed the tiniest glimmer of a genuine smile as he said it, but later concluded it to be a trick of the light, or perhaps even wishful thinking.

With that, Naruto left. He descended the steep staircase in the gloomy hallway to find that the sun had completely set while he had been inside. There were no windows in Sai's studio at far as Naruto had seen, so he had lost track of time.

He pulled out his phone to check his text messages, and had six from Sakura. She had at first been wondering about their dinner plans, but digressed into worry for her friend's safety. He replied that he was on his way home and began walking, feeling guilty for causing her to worry. He had completely lost track of the time with Sai. The guy was no doubt weird, and definitely unsettling at times, but he made up for it by being mysteriously interesting: just one more thing that likened him to Sasuke. _But Sasuke is definitely cooler,_ he added.

He looked up at the sky. The moon was nearly full. Naruto figured that it would probably finish waxing before Sakura's birthday. His mind wandered towards memories of Sasuke as he walked. It was inevitable after meeting a guy like Sai. They had so much in common: they were even both gay. _Speaking of which,_ Naruto thought, _I wonder who that guy in the drawing was._ He felt pretty confident that the man was Sai's lover, though whether their relationship was past, present or fantasy, Naruto had no idea.

 _Sasuke._ The name of Naruto's own childhood friend and teenage lover continued to occupy his mind unceasingly. _It's been so long since I thought about you._ His steps slowed as memories of his boyhood crush dominated his consciousness. _I wonder: what are you doing right now, Sasuke? Am I ever on your mind the way you're on mine right now?_

Naruto's phone buzzed in his pocket. He pulled it out and read a text message from Sakura that read "I was worried about you, idiot! I saved you leftovers from dinner, but don't complain if it's not as good as it would have been an hour ago." He couldn't help but smile. _Thank you for worrying about me, Sakura._ He replied to her text message with an apology and a smiley face, then picked up the pace. He was suddenly feeling very hungry, and was eager to get home and reheat the meal Sakura had prepared.


	2. Pancakes for Breakfast

Naruto gave Sakura's shoulder a gentle squeeze. She had fallen asleep on the couch with her head in his lap. "Sakura," he called softly. She stirred, moaning groggily. "Wake up sleepihead. If you're not going to watch the movie you picked out, then I'm picking a different one.

"No," she groaned. "It's my turn to pick."

"Then actually watch the stupid thing," he snapped.

"Shut up," she retorted, sitting up and rubbing the sleep from her eyes. "What did I miss?"

"Like all of it," he informed her grumpily.

"Ngggh…" She could only blink dreamily at him.

"Okay, time for bed." Naruto rose to his feet and leaned down to scoop his roommate up in his arms. She grumbled something, but Naruto couldn't understand it. Whatever it was, it was probably insulting anyways. He carried her upstairs to her room, where he gently set her down on the bed and tucked her in under the blankets.

"Mmm Naruto, you idiot. I was watching that," she mumbled.

"Sweet dreams," he whispered, leaning down to kiss her cheek. She halfheartedly swatted him away with her hand. Naruto smiled down at her affectionately, then turned out the light and headed back downstairs to watch something that was actually interesting.

Naruto browsed and browsed, but nothing on Netflix peaked his interest. He was utterly and entirely bored out of his mind. He pulled out his phone to check for new text messages, and saw that Sai had sent him one five minutes earlier. It read, "Is The Serpents' Den a good name? I use snakes as a symbol in a lot of my work."

Naruto considered this for a moment. He imagined a friend inviting him to someplace called The Serpents' Den, but the first thing that came to mind was a sketchy tattoo or bong shop that was probably just a laundering front for the opium den in the back room. "That sounds too ominous. Think friendly and inviting!" Naruto texted back. He set the phone in his lap and continued to browse through Netflix while he waited for Sai's reply. He wasn't even reading the titles anymore, just glancing over the cover art.

His phone vibrated again. The text read, "The Snakes' House?"

Naruto laughed at Sai's interpretation of his advice and texted back, "Try something without snakes. What about tigers, if you're set on using an animal? I saw a lot of those in your studio."

Sai's response came quickly this time. "Okay, how about The Tigers' Den? Or The Crouching Tiger? Maybe that sounds too much like a Chinese Restaurant."

"That sounds pretty cool! Try something with snakes, because you seemed to like that, but without the word den, because it's a bit unsettling."

"Serpent Studios?"

"Yeah, that one's good!" Naruto definitely liked Serpent Studios the best so far.

"Okay, now I have a name. What next?"

Naruto pulled the list he had made from his pocket and uncrumpled it. "You need to design some business cards, a sign, and posters with the name you choose. Try to put some color into it."

"I shall begin immediately." Naruto smirked at Sai's quirky way of saying things. He seemed to always be straightforward in both words and intentions, which was something that Naruto really liked about him. It was awkward at times - for example, when he had started listing personal details about himself randomly - but in a forgivable way that bordered on cute.

Sasuke had always been uncomfortable in social situations, but he could still handle them. He was not socially oblivious like Sai, just moody and disinterested in other people's feelings. He especially hated crowds. He hated pretty much anything fun, actually. _I have to stop comparing them_ , Naruto thought helplessly, but he knew that would be easier said than done.

The time was barely past eleven at night, and Naruto was not feeling particularly tired, but he decided to go to bed anyways. He turned the television and xBox 360 off, then brushed his teeth, washed his face, and got into bed around half past eleven.

The room was dark, but it was still possible to make out shapes because of the strong moonlight streaming in through the window. Naruto considered getting up to close the curtains, but ultimately decided not to. He knew that he would sleep in too late the next morning if the sun was unable to wake him by flooding the room with light. His bedroom window faced East, so he never bothered to set an alarm unless he had a class the next day.

Naruto closed his eyes and attempted to clear his mind of Sai, Sasuke, Serpent Studios, Sakura, school and everything else he had thought about throughout the day. He dreamily considered what he would eat for breakfast the following morning, and sleep came to him shortly after deciding upon pancakes.

 _Sasuke glared at him from across the table. "Stop fidgeting," he said._

" _I can't help it," Naruto replied. "I've never been somewhere so nice." He turned the menu around and pointed at an item with his finger to show Sasuke. "They're asking over thirty dollars for a fucking salad. It's crazy."_

" _I was looking at that one actually," Sasuke replied. "Organic mixed greens tossed with bosc pear slices, dried cranberries, chevre, sliced almonds and balsamic vinaigrette," he read from his own menu. "Do you want to split it as an appetizer? I'm paying for everything, so stop worrying about the prices."_

" _This is going to cost a small fortune between the two of us." Naruto closed the menu and set it down on the table, completely ignoring Sasuke's instructions. "I would honestly rather just not eat than fork over this kind of money for a single meal."_

 _Sasuke sighed for the umpteenth time since arriving at the restaurant. "I did say I would be taking you somewhere nice. Now shut up and let me take you on a romantic date without complaining."_

 _Naruto scoffed. "Can't we just get Ichiraku Ramen?" he pleaded._

 _Sasuke rolled his eyes and asked, "do you have any Idea how far in advance I had to make reservations here?"_

 _Naruto crossed his arms. "Pretty far, I imagine. They want you to have plenty of time to build up a juicy savings account so you can afford more than just the drink." He held up his fourteen dollar virgin cocktail as proof, then took a sip of it. "I need a real drink."_

" _I convinced Raidou to buy us some wine," Sasuke told him. "It's at my house. It was supposed to be a surprise, but if the promise of booze is what it takes to make you happy, then whatever." He smirked in that enticing way of his that always sent shivers up Naruto's spine. It didn't matter how tired he was, how intense their argument got, or even why he was smirking. It turned him on every time without fail, which could at times be incredibly frustrating._

 _Naruto smiled wryly, knowingly taking the bait. "You know me so well, Sasuke."_

" _Happy birthday, loser."_

" _You can wish me happy birthday at the afterparty, Sasuke," he said, taking his bottom lip between his teeth, "with dessert."_

Naruto cracked one eye open to find that his bedroom was bright with sunlight. _Morning already?_ He groaned and rolled over sluggishly onto his back to stare at the ceiling while absentmindedly thinking about the dreams he'd had. Something about an alien spaceship, purple cyclop alien invaders, and saving the human race from enslavement with Sakura. The details were gone from his mind as usual, but he could recall the gist of it, and the fact that it had been really exciting. He could also vaguely remember dreaming about something having to do with Sasuke, but nothing more specific than the memory of eating a really delicious salad would come to him on that topic. He found this strange, since he generally was not very fond of salads.

"Pancakes," he suddenly remembered. "Alright, let's do it." He rolled out of bed and pulled on a random pair of sweatpants he found on the floor, brushed his teeth in the bathroom down the hall, then made his way to the kitchen. He found Sakura sitting cross legged in a chair at the kitchen table eating what looked like granola with yogurt. "Awe, I was about to make us pancakes," he whined.

"Good morning, Naruto," Sakura replied dryly. "Or should I say afternoon?"

"What time is it?" he asked, moving across the room to check the time on the microwave and answer his own question. "Dang, it's really past one? I must have slept for like thirteen hours."

"Well you were out all day yesterday, so I'm not surprised," she said coldly.

"I know, I know." Naruto sighed deeply. "I missed dinner last night and didn't make breakfast even though it's my turn to make it. I'm sorry." Sakura did not say anything more, so Naruto went about pulling the necessary ingredients from various shelves and drawers and piling them on the counter. He put the batter together quickly without measuring anything out properly, and made a heaping plate of pancakes in record time using the incredibly handy griddle Sakura had given him for his own birthday five months earlier. He still maintained the belief that it was one of those gifts meant to hint at something - in this case, the message was something along the lines of "I want you to make me pancakes more often" - but he still had to admit that the thing was pretty useful. He could make six mid-sized pancakes at once with it, whereas before he had been making them with painstaking slowness one at a time.

"Do we have any fruit around?" he asked.

"I think I have a banana and maybe an apple in the fridge," Sakura answered.

"Why do you put apples in the fridge?" Naruto questioned, opening the door and peering inside. "Don't they get wrinkly when you do that?"

"They last longer," she told him.

"If you say so," Naruto replied, unconvinced. He sliced the apple and banana and tossed them in a bowl, then brought it to the table along with the maple syrup. "I don't know why you always insist on getting real maple syrup," said Naruto. "It's like twenty times the price."

"And a million times better for you," she countered. "Your health is worth every penny, Naruto."

"Why do you think I'm making your precious pancakes with buckwheat?"

She stood from the table with her bowl and spoon in hand. "Because you want me to live for a long time," she answered with a cheeky smile as she walked past him to set her dishes in the sink.

"We both know I'm going to die before you anyways," he remarked. "You'll probably live past a hundred with all that kale you eat." He made a disgusted gave that was reminiscent of the one he had made after trying kale for the first time.

"Why do you have to make fun of me for caring about my health?" Naruto could tell that she was quickly becoming annoyed.

"Sorry, I'll shut up now," he assured her, flipping a pancake over on the griddle.

"Sasuke actually liked that about me," she mumbled.

They were both silent for a time, then Naruto asked quietly, "What's with the past tense?" He took the current batch of pancakes off the griddle before they burned, then turned the heat off.

Sakura watched him carefully, standing there with the spatula in his hand. His eyes were on the griddle, but his mind was somewhere else.

"He never once acknowledged me, you know," she said, "in all those years." She moved from the sink towards Naruto, and put a hand on his shoulder. "Just be glad you had the time with him that you did."

"Don't say that." Naruto's tone was low and serious. He brought the pancakes to the table, where he sat down but did not put anything on his plate. "He'll come back."

"Right." Sakura did not sound convinced.

"Sakura." She looked up to find him staring at her. "It had nothing to do with you. Sasuke's gay because he just… is. I'm sure that if he were straight, it would've been you. I'm positive." His gaze was intense - overwhelmingly so - and Sakura was unable to match it. She looked away and stared at her empty plate instead. The familiar feeling of guilt he felt about Sakura's love for Sasuke was beginning to surface again. It was the same feeling he got every time Sasuke came up in conversation between them: a painful tightness in his chest accompanied by a strong desire to crawl under the table and hide from her. "You're like a sister to him, anyways," he continued, fighting the urge to run away from Sakura's pain. "Isn't that better, in a way? The two of you never have stupid fights about weird relationship stuff, yet you still care for each other like family." He gave her the best reassuring smile he could muster. "Isn't that easier in the long term?"

"No." She stood and left the table without taking a single bite of Naruto's pancakes.

 _I would have just made them from a mix if I knew she wouldn't eat them,_ he thought. It was at times like these that he felt more bitterness towards Sasuke for Sakura's sake than for his own. He had always known that the Uchiha name took the greatest priority in Sasuke's life. It outweighed their relationship from its beginning to its ends. Even before the beginning, and especially after the end. Always. There had never been a time, even during the two years they had spent as lovers, when Naruto or anything else took precedence over the Uchiha legacy in Sasuke's eyes. This was something that Sakura had never understood, which made it all the more difficult for her to accept that he had left.

Naruto did not think that Sasuke would come back to be with him - he was not that naive - but he did believe that Sasuke would come back eventually simply because Konohagakure was Sasuke's home. Naruto and Sakura were Sasuke's home. He truly believed that.

"Yo."

Naruto gave a small yelp of surprise and turned around in his seat so quickly that his back popped in an extremely uncomfortable way. "You asswipe!"

Kiba stood in the entryway of the kitchen with a triumphantly mischievous grin on his face. "You should really start locking your back door," he said. "Anyone could just waltz right in here and steal your shit."

Naruto rolled his eyes. "Stop nagging and eat those pancakes," he ordered his friend. "I made too many."

"No complaints here!" Kiba came to the table and picked a pancake up with his hand. "You could feed like five people with all these pancakes," he commented. "Well, five regular people or two Narutos, knowing how much you can eat." He took a bite and chewed thoughtfully, then dropped it onto Sakura's unused plate and took her chair for himself. "How come they're so dark?" He asked, bending down to examine them more closely.

"Buckwheat," Naruto answered between mouthfuls. "Sakura prefers them."

"Hmm…" Kiba scoured the table with his eyes. He was accustomed to sweeter, fluffier pancakes, and did not find these incredibly pleasing. "Aha!" He suddenly snatched the maple syrup and poured a very generous amount onto his single pancake. " _That's_ what I'm talking about."

"Go easy or you're buying me more maple syrup," Naruto warned him.

"It's your own fault for making them so bland," Kiba countered.

"You're just addicted to sugar," Naruto insisted.

"Like you're not?"

Naruto looked down at his own plate, piled high and drenched in sticky syrup. "Touché."

"Alright, so what's the plan?" Kiba asked.

"I hadn't thought that far ahead yet," Naruto replied sincerely.

"Did you figure out what you're getting for Sakura's birthday, yet?"

"Oh!" Naruto suddenly exclaimed, his mouth still full of food. "That's right!" Kiba gave him a disgusted look, but said nothing. Naruto quickly gulped down his most recent bite and continued talking. "I found the perfect thing, but there are some strings attached."

Kiba lifted one eyebrow skeptically. "Please tell me it's not a wedding ring," he mumbled.

"Don't be stupid." Naruto tossed a slice of banana at him, which he skillfully caught in his mouth. Naruto scowled. "Damn dog." Kiba just grinned and continued eating. "It's a painting," Naruto explained. "But I can't afford it, so the guy who made it and I arranged a sort of exchange. I'm going to help him get his name out there and sell a few pieces, then he'll give me the painting for free in exchange for my help."

"What? That's so not fair," Kiba grumbled. "Do you have any idea how much I spent on Hinata's birthday present? A fuckton: that's how much." He crossed his arms. "You gave her a fucking scarf you probably got at a secondhand store - I mean there were holes in it, for God's sake - yet she _adores_ that stupid thing."

"Hey," Naruto replied nonchalantly with a shrug. "Some girls just aren't into things like diamonds."

Kiba pushed his plate away and brought his head down to rest on the table. "Some girls just aren't into things that aren't from you," he grumbled.

Naruto sighed. "Let's go do something today," he suggested. "No festering over failed love!"

"I guess I'm invited by default then, right?" Naruto could tell that it was Sakura speaking behind him. By the sound of her voice, it seemed that she was still sulking from earlier.

Naruto looked behind him to meet her eyes with his own and said "hey." He greeted her with excruciating gentleness, as if she were made of delicate glass that would shatter from loud sounds.

"Hey," she responded, her voice equally as soft. "Don't worry, I won't intrude on your man to man time," she assured them with a small smile. "I have a bunch of homework to finish up anyways."

 _Speaking of homework,_ though Naruto, suddenly remembering all that horrendous math work he had been procrastinating.

"Don't tell me you _still_ haven't finished it yet," Sakura lectured him. She knew exactly what he was thinking about from the look on his face.

"Uh, well…" Naruto stuttered. "I started it, ya know. But then I feel asleep because it was totally boring, and… well, yeah." He scratched the back on his head guiltily.

"Don't mother him, Sakura," Kiba insisted. "He's hopeless, so don't bother." Naruto flicked another slice of banana at him, which this time landed on his cheek and stuck there. "I take it back, Sakura," said Kiba. "Please force him to do his homework."

"Naruto can take care of himself," she told him pointedly. "I'm not worried."

 _I'm worried,_ Naruto thought as a math induced panic began to take hold of him.

He felt Kiba slap him on the back. "Just worry about it later," he advised. "Now go get cleaned up so we can go out!"

Naruto frowned at him. "Go out where?" he inquired.

"Fuck if I know!" He stood up and picked up his plate. "I'll figure it out while you shower."

Naruto absentmindedly scratched his chest, which caused him to remember that he had never put on a shirt that morning. "Isn't it warmer in here that usual?" They almost never used the heater, so it was usually still a bit chilly in the house in early spring.

"It's actually really nice out today," Sakura informed him, walking around the kitchen table to peer out the window. "It makes me sad I have to work today.'

Naruto noticed that Sakura was wearing her usual entirely black work attire, just without the half apron. She had two part time jobs: one at a natural foods store and another at a sandwich joint. Combined, the free sub sandwiches and random grocery items from the employee free bin cut down on their grocery costs a lot, but they were still in the market for roommates to cut costs further. Naruto and Sakura were currently the only occupants in the four bedroom house they rented. They had had various people filtering through the two currently unoccupied rooms over the past three years.

The summer after they had graduated high school, Sasuke had shared Naruto's room with him. They had spent the second half of their relationship living together in that same house where Naruto still lived. They had even purchased that mattress together, and Sasuke was the only person Naruto had ever shared it with, not including Sakura in a strictly platonic way. Naruto had dated other people over the past two years since Sasuke had left, but he had never invited anyone into what he still considered to be his and Sasuke's bed. He had even gotten extremely drunk one time and made out Sakura, which to his relief, she could not remember the next day even after being told about it. But even that had happened at a friend's house. Other than that, he'd had a single drunken one night stand with a man, and two short lived relationships with women whom he was no longer in contact with, but none of those relationships had ever found their way into that bed.

Naruto was aware that continuing to be so hung up on Sasuke was unhealthy - or at least he knew that was what his friends believed. Even Sakura, who had maintained hope that he would come back for over a year, had by now given up on ever seeing him again. She still loved him, as she always would, but overtime she had digressed into speaking about him in the past tense as if he were a piece of history from their childhoods and teenage years. She spoke of him in a way that would lead an eavesdropping stranger to believe Sasuke was a close friend who had suddenly died years ago.

"Alright, let's go drinking or something," Naruto finally conceded. "Neji and Tenten will get us booze if we let them keep the change."

"I can't wait to turn twenty-one in July this year," Kiba exclaimed. "Then we'll be able to _actually_ go drinking!"

"I worry about you sometimes," Naruto muttered.

"Speak for yourself," Sakura retorted on Kiba's behalf. "You drink almost as much as he does. It's so bad for you." She adjusted the strap of her purse on her shoulder, then stuck her hand in one of its many pockets. "I'm off to work, boys," she informed them, pulling out her keys and jingling them in front of her as proof. Then she suddenly formed a very serious expression and said, "make sure you clean up this pancake mess before you go anywhere," with a menacing glare at both of them. "See you later!" The terrifying aura vanished in an instant, and she waved them goodbye with a pleasant smile.

Naruto, unphased, wished her a good day at work, but Kiba was too afraid to say anything for fear of setting her off. "She's a bit of a clean freak," he told Kiba once she had left. "Do you remember how spotless this place was when both her _and_ Sasuke were around?" He gave a weary sigh at the mere memory. "Sasuke's just as particular as Sakura. They really whipped me into shape when we first all move in together."

Kiba snorted with laughter. "Fuck yeah, how could I forget after Sasuke tried to permanently ban me from the premises because my candy wrapper missed the trash can and I didn't pick it up," he said. "That guy could be a real prick."

Naruto smiled sadly. "Yeah, sometimes he's pretty hard to deal with, but he always says the same thing about me, so know knows?"

"So," Kiba began, standing up and and bringing his plate to the sink. "Have met anyone recently? Been seeing anyone?"

Naruto collected a small pile of dishes from the sink and brought them to Kiba, who was now hand washing them. "I met someone interesting yesterday, but not in that way. I don't think we would click that way."

"Why not?' Kiba question innocently.

"I don't have to try to get into the pants of every single new person I meet," he snapped, taking a clean plate from Kiba and drying it off. "We're not all as hopelessly horny as you, Kiba."

"That, or you're all just denying yourselves," he mused, squeezing additional soap onto the sponge he was using.

"Sure, Kiba. Whatever you say," he said, taking a handful of utensils from Kiba's hand.


End file.
